Hollybrook resident finally getting closure

By Eileen Mellon, Special to the Citizen 06/26/12

As disabled residents of the Hollybrook Apartments on St. Joseph’s Villa property south of the main campus navigate to cross Brook Road, many face difficulties with traffic and are fearful for their safety. Resident Brian Montgomery has been fighting for enhancements for the Brook Road corridor along the Villa’s property since 2000, when he was struck by an SUV while on his way to get groceries. His chair wound up under the vehicle and he barely escaped breaking his neck. Twelve years later, he is finally seeing plans put in motion to make the corridor a safer area for residents and pedestrians.

The Hollybrook complex is a HUD Section 8 apartment community for people living with disabilities and was designed for people confined to wheelchairs. It now serves seniors and people with mental illnesses as well and consists of two developments, Hollybrook I and Hollybrook II; each has 30 units.

For the residents of Hollybrook, crossing the busy intersection is something they do daily because across Brook Road sits a Wal-mart and other stores that many of them frequently use. With a high number of handicapped people in close proximity to a major roadway, the chances of getting hit or dealing with careless drivers has escalated. It’s frustrating for tenants because despite safety concerns, there have been no major improvement to the road for more than 60 years – until now.

Things are finally moving forward, as VDOT and Henrico County are funding a $5.5 million project at the site. The construction budget originally was assessed at $2.4 million, but after a delay of five years to finalize plans, the cost more than doubled.

Project plans include sidewalk enhancements at the Villa entrance and Wal-mart entrance at the back of Hollybrook; sidewalks will be enlarged from four feet to seven feet. A sidewalk behind Brook Road that runs from the corner of Villa Park Drive to the entrance of Hollybrook will be enlarges as well, and an additional sidewalk will be built to run all to way to Parham Road in front of the Villa.

It has taken more than a decade of advocating through letters, e-mails, meeting and phone calls for Montgomery and residents of Hollybrook Apartments to see any signs of change. Montgomery wishes the issue had been handled sooner, so that several life-altering incidents could’ve been avoided.

“I got hit back in 2000 and I met some neighbors of mine and we started contacting Henrico County, trying to get sidewalks and improvements out here in Hollybrook," he said. "When it was built in 1984 they should’ve put the sidewalks in but they didn't. We’ve been going back and forth with Henrico County and VDOT for about 12 years trying to get it all nailed down."

A few sidewalk and crosswalk signals were added to the Brook and Wilkinson intersection more than five years ago, but the changes almost served as a temporary fix to the serious safety issue that residents encounter.

“When crossing Brook Road, you have to put your life in your own hands to get across there because the traffic just keeps on getting worse and worse. We do have countdown clocks and sensors at the stoplights now to help us but it’s not enough,” said Montgomery.

Montgomery has been lobbying for years to see changes made and has dealt with defeat before. His hopes were raised in 2005 when Henrico officials allocated $500,000 toward the project, but when funds from VDOT fell through, so did the transportation fix.

The corridor enhancements have an expected completion date of November 2012. Until then, Montgomery is going to be patient and hope that his continued efforts and optimism will lead to positive changes for himself and the residents of Hollybrook.

“It isn't going to hit me until i see the improvements and I see them putting in the changes,” he said.

The fire broke out in the third floor of the Chase Gayton apartment complex in the 10 block of Chase Gayton Drive, near the intersection of Gaskins Road and Quioccasin Road, at about 1:20 p.m. Sept. 24. > Read more.

Crime stoppers needs your help to solve a double homicide that occurred in the City of Richmond in June of this year.

On Wednesday, June 7, at approximately 9:53 p.m., Richmond police officers responded to several calls for random gunfire in the 3600 block of Decatur Street. They arrived and found the victims, two males, Christian Singleton and Ketron Wells. The victims were outside on the ground lying near each other. Both victims had received fatal gunshot wounds. > Read more.

The Richmond Astronomical Society and Libbie Mill Library will host a presentation about the night sky and its astronomy Sept. 28, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Attendees will enjoy amazing views of the moon and other celestial objects with high-quality telescopes operated by members of the Richmond Astronomical Society. Guests will be able to see craters and seas on the surface of the moon with clarity and detail. > Read more.

The number of homes sold in Henrico County in August rose 10 percent when compared to the same month last year, according to data compiled by Long & Foster. The average sale price of those homes – $239,975 – also rose, by about 4 percent when compared to the same average sale price in August 2016.

Henrico's jump in the number of homes sold was the largest in the Richmond region, though average sales prices in Chesterfield (8 percent increase) and Richmond (12 percent) jumped by higher amounts when compared to last August sales. > Read more.

Graham M. Bundy, a thoracic surgeon with HCA Virginia Physicians’ Cardiothoracic Surgical Associates, is the first such surgeon in Central Virginia to perform 100 minimally-invasive Da Vinci robot-assisted lobectomies (a surgical procedure to remove a lobe of the lung). The procedure is used to treat multiple types of conditions but is most often used to treat lung cancer. > Read more.

Classifieds

Calendar

Virginia Credit Union will present “Building a Better Budget” from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Fairfield Library. This workshop will address proven strategies for saving money, managing spending and improving credit. Participants will receive practical advice for creating and sticking to a budget with tools to track spending and set “SMART” financial goals. Registration is required. For details, call 323-6800 or visit http://www.vacu.org.
Full text